Choices
by B00tifulSoul
Summary: Raven was the one who helped Robin through his pain when Starfire ran away 5 years ago. Now, Starfire is back for her “boy” and Raven isn’t ready to give him back. Who’s going to help her with her broken heart? In comes Romeo, I mean, Speedy.
1. Chapter 01: Heartbreak

**Title: **_Choices_

**Summary:** Five years ago, Starfire ran away. Raven was the one who helped Robin through his pain. Now, Starfire is back for her "boy" and Raven isn't ready to give him back. Who's going to help her with her broken heart? In comes Romeo, I mean, Speedy.

**Pairings:** RaeSpeed, StarRob

**Rating:** T

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Chapter One: Heartache

It was a crush. A tiny insignificant crush. No matter that her hands sweated every time he came into a room or her heartbeat fastened. It was a small crush. Nothing serious.

He isn't ready for a relationship. It didn't matter that it was five years since _she_ broke his heart. Deep down, he is still hurt, still burned by the way that Starfire had left him. Five years and not even a single phone call, not even a letter. It hurt him; it wounded him deep. Starfire wasn't the one who saw him broke down. Starfire wasn't the one who helped him up. Raven was.

Raven Roth looked up to see her partner—and now best friend—flirting with another blond waitress. Not again. These one night stands have got to stop. Not for his sake, but hers. She couldn't stand hearing the groans and moans coming from the room next to her. All of the waitresses look like _her_. Tall, long legged and hair, and a sweet ditzy nature. They were all the same to him. Each one for only one night. One night for him to forget the hurt.

Raven couldn't stand seeing her friend, and former leader, reduced to such a way. It was pathetic. It was… hurtful. It hurt every time he brought one home, a reminder of what she could never be.

Raven dropped some money on the café table. He wasn't coming back to the Tower tonight.

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Raven sighed as she entered her dark room. Turning on a small nightlight, her eye caught a photo of the original Teen Titans. They looked so happy.

After Starfire left, the name "Teen Titans" became nonexistent. They were simply called by their individual names. Garfield, or Beastboy, moved to the other side of the town now with his new formed family. Victor, better known as Cyborg, still lived in the Tower. He had the ground floor all to himself and is currently dating Bumblebee. Raven and Robin, now called Nightwing, lived on the top floor. They choose rooms next to each other strictly for security purposes. But as time wore on, they became closer.

"RAVEN!"

Gliding out the room, Raven stopped short. In the middle of the kitchen table was a birthday cake. Around the table, all of Raven's friends gathered around. How could she forget? It was her birthday.

Beastboy let out a firecracker.

"DAMN YOU GARFIELD! That firecracker singed my hair."

Bumblebee chased after Beastboy, throwing stingers as she ran.

"Ow! Ow! I'm soooooooo sorry! Don't do this in front of my kids!"

Beastboy's 5 year old twin daughters, Aurora and Rosa, giggled as they ran after their father.

Allowing a small smile to grace her face, Raven looked around the room.

"Where's Richard?"

Cyborg's broad grin faltered. He always hated to be the bearer of bad news.

"He… um… got a bit tied up."

Hurt, but determined not to show it, Raven proceeded to hug all her friends. All the while thinking, _Richard forgot my birthday._

"Hey Raven."

Forced out of her stupor with a surprise, Raven looked up to twinkling chestnut brown eyes. Crinkling her forehead, she tried to place the face to a name.

"Aww… baby, you forgot me that easily."

Baby. The nickname that she abhorred. Only one person called her that…

"Speedy."

"The one and only," Speedy grinned down at the petite beauty. Damn. She was so hott. Knowing that she hated it when he talked about her body, he did it anyways. "Looking fine… especially in those jeans."

Sure enough, a small book flew out of nowhere and smacked him on his head.

"What! I can't be honest?

Another whack.

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An/ It seemed a bit sad once I read it over. Okay, it seemed very sad! (CRIES!) Yeah, yeah, I know, pathetic right? What kind of writer cries over her own story?

REVIEW PLEASE DUCKIES!


	2. Chapter 02: Presents

AN: First off, I just wanted to say thank you for all the reviews. Eight reviews for my first story… I just cannot stop grinning like an idiot. I hope that more would come (wait… is that a hint I sense here?). Because many of the reviewers complained that my chapter was too short (and it was… SORRY!), this chapter is going to be especially long. Not only am I making up for the short chapter, I have to get the base of this story out first. And, I'm taking advice from a reviewer to slow down.

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**Chapter Two: Presents**

Hours later, the party was still raging on. There was food here and there, cake on the ceilings (due to Beastboy), and a large amount of noise. Raven found herself happy, excessively happy. Her friends can tell by her eyes, the lack of her usual monotone, her half-smile, and her quiet laughter. And like many birthday parties, there was presents.

"PRESENT TIME!" Beastboy yelled, raising his voice to be here. "Oh birthday girl… where are you?"

Embarrassed beyond belief, Raven walked up to the couch where a heap of presents have been waiting for her. Like mosquitoes drawn to a flame, her friends crowded around her, staring as Raven picked out the first present. A little perturbed, Raven picked up a large custard yellow box said to be from Beastboy.

"Uh… thanks Beastboy," Raven said hesitantly, looking inside the box. What was this? An ant colony? She shuddered. "Just what I need, ants."

Beastboy beamed with pride, just like in the olden days when he succeeded in making his friend laugh; yet, his wife, Terra, reached over to whack him on the head.

"Idiot, I told you not to get her that. Open our's next Raven. Bumblebee and the girls helped pick it out."

Levitating the ant colony near the trashcan (for a quick dump later), Raven opened the next one.

"Wow… it's beautiful," Raven said, gazing down at a midnight blue dress. And beautiful it was—expensive too! The dress was made of a sheer fabric only seen in certain stores. The ruffles and laces only added to the appeal.

Sitting back satisfied, Terra looked over to Beastboy and smirked. The girls, Rose and Aurora, did the same. Mumbling to himself, Beastboy sunk back into the sofa sullenly.

Raven received a highly compact new laptop from Cyborg, a watch that repelled water from Aqualad, cookies and chocolates from Mas y Menos, and much more. By the end of the night, most of the people had already dwindled on home except for the local residents, Cyborg and Raven, and Speedy, who insisted on helping them clean.

When the last of the trash had been picked up and thrown away, Cyborg gave a half-hearted wave as he stumbled to the basement. Raven crashed down on the couch and closed her heavy eyes.

"You don't want to open my present?"

Cracking one eye open, she looked up to see the famous grin of the playboy, Speedy. Groaning as she sat up, she snatched the box out of his hands. Speedy put his hands into his pockets as he waited for her to finish opening it. Taking out the object out of the box, Raven scrutinized it.

"A bone, you got me a freaking bone for my birthday. Are you trying to say something?"

"Other than you're a bitch…," Speedy started, stopped by a punch in the stomach. "Okay! It's a _wishbone_."

"A wishbone?" Raven questioned. A bone for a wish. "Isn't that a bit sadistic?"

"A wishbone isn't a real bone per say," Speedy said, rolling his eyes playfully while placing his hand on one end of the stick. "See… there's two sides for two people. All you have to do is pull one of them and I'll pull the other. The one who ends up with the longer stick gets to make a secret wish."

Following his instructions, Raven gave a tug. _Crack! _The wishbone broke into two leaving Raven with… the shorter stick.

"Great present," Raven said in her casual monotone. "I got to pull on a bone. That nearly beats Beastboy's present. You should probably go home now, it's pretty late."

As Raven started to head off to bed, Speedy quickly grabbed her arm.

"Don't you want to hear my wish?"

Without waiting for her to reply, he continued, "I wished that… you would go to the roof with me for five minutes."

"Doesn't telling the person defeat the whole purpose of having a "secret wish"?"

Ignoring her words of logic, Speedy pulled her towards the elevator. Raven found herself excited. There never was a boring moment when Speedy was around. _It's been great birthday. Nothing can ever take this happy memory away from her. _

Having defeated her father four years ago, Raven had found herself with a new type of freedom. She had the freedom to happiness, to laugh, to cry, to show her emotions. Sure, she did break a few things now and then. But she was no longer confined… she was free.

"Ok, now, put on this blindfold."

She allowed herself to be blindfolded. Of course, she could always kick his ass if he tried anything. Speedy lead her across the roof towards the middle. When they stopped, without waiting for him to tell her to take off the blindfold, Raven pulled it off and gasped.

_It was magnificent. _A telescope stood in front of her, gleaming in the moonlight. Looking up at Speedy, she found her gazing down at her nervously. Nervous, he was nervous!

"If you don't like it, it's okay! I completely under…"

She stopped his plethora of words when she suddenly threw herself in his arms. Not knowing what to do, Speedy tentatively hugged her back, blushing to himself. He chided himself to stop acting like a pubescent thirteen-year-old kid. Yet, that was how he felt around Raven. She made him feel joyful, content, whole—and now, filled with raging hormones. He wanted nothing more than to kiss her; and yet, he valued her too much. He loved her smile, her laughter, her smirks, and even her frowns. He couldn't let all this be taken away from him just because of a little crush. Yeah, that's all it was, a little crush.

"Thanks," Raven said, pulling back slightly. "This is the greatest gift that you could ever give me."

"You're welcome babe," Speedy said, smirking a bit. "Now… do I get a little kiss for a job well done?"

Whack! There Speedy goes, ruining perfect moments.

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Robin, or Richard, woke up with a raging headache. How much alcohol did he consume last night? Turning to his side, he was met with a warm naked body.

"Darling… up already?"

"Uh… yeah," Richard replied, a bit confused to who it was. "I'm going to go now… whatever I did last night, I'm so sorry."

"Call me," the voice mumbled into their pillow.

"Sure," Richard said carelessly. He didn't even know who the girl was… how was he going to know her phone number.

Shoving on his clothes as fast as he could, Richard rushed from the apartment.

The city is sure going to be disappointed by the way this superhero is living. Aren't superheroes suppose to be valiant and an all-do-gooder? Aren't superheroes supposed to watch out for the city? Don't superheroes need to be at the city's beck and call? If that is what a superhero suppose to do, Richard didn't want to be one, not anymore anyways. He wanted Starfire but she was gone, unattainable.

It's been five years since Starfire had left Earth for Tamarzan. It's been five years since he saw her face or heard her voice. Five years too long.

Richard sighed as he arrived back at Titans Tower. Another day of fighting bad guys that would always come back, just another day with Cyborg and Raven…. Shit! Raven… it was her birthday yesterday. Cursing himself for being the worst best friend in the whole wide universe, Richard hurried up to the elevator. His destination? Raven's room.

Grabbing his present from his room, he arrived out of breath at Raven's door.

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Raven woke up to the sounds of furious knocking. Annoyed with the person on the other side of the door, she threw a pillow at the door.

"Go away," she said in her usual monotone. "I'll deal with you later."

"Raven! Raven! I'm so sorry for yesterday," Richard rambled, worried that she'll be angry and kick his ass like she did to Beastboy in the olden days. "I completely forgot. I'll make it up to you, I promise."

The door opened halfway. Just as Richard was going to stick his head into her room, dark tendrils of power crept out, snagged the present that he had in his hands, and came back into the room. The door slid shut. Richard gaped at the door in surprise.

Raven could just see his face on the other side of the door. Unable to keep her laughter in, her giggles erupted.

Richard smiled outside the door. It was a good thing that Raven was able to laugh, even if it was _at_ him. Going into his own room, he made a mental note to make it up to

Raven later.

Raven gazed down at the velvet box in her arms. Opening it slowly and carefully, she found a glass rose and violet with a note. Shaking her head at his corniness, she read.

_Roses are red._

_Violets are blue._

_It's candy I owe._

_I love you!_

_-Richard_

If only that "I love you" wasn't so platonic. Raven sighed… she wasn't in love with him. She couldn't be. Yet as she felt the little tug on her heart when she re-read the note, she knew she had fallen. A fallen Raven.

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An/ Did I accomplish my readers wishes? Is it long enough? Ok ok, it's not really long but it's twice as long as the first chapter. So I'm improving… right?

I know there are probably many grammar mistakes… but I couldn't find them! So… feel free to mention them in your review.

Thanks for the reviews once again! I'm so damn happy… you could ask my dog. He was the one who came up with the idea of a bone, I mean, a wishbone. Hahaha…

I think that someone once told me that I couldn't give reviewers' responses in my story. Anyone have any idea how I'm suppose to give reviewers their responses?

-The Authoress


	3. Chapter 3: The Fire's Back

**AN/ **Thanks for all the reviews! 14 reviews all for lil' old me… And I must say, I'm soooooo sorry for not updating "in so long blasphemy" (thanks for the review "evil means me"! It made me laugh.). As many other writers have complained before me, I had sooo much work to do over my spring break. Therefore, as payment, I tried to make this an action packed chapter.

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**Title: **Choices

**3. **The Fire's Back!

"What did you buy!" Richard grumbled, struggling under the weight of all the bags that Raven had forced him to carry. "This feels like 100 lbs of lead."

Raven grinned to herself as she maneuvered through the throngs of crazy shoppers. Richard had decided that a trip to the mall during the weekends would be enough compensation for forgetting her birthday. She was hesitant at first, since the mall is not exactly her favorite place to be, but Richard had looked so forlorn that she just had to go. She hoped that he does not find out that she forgot her own birthday. That would certainly not bode well with him, considering the fact that she made him carry all her new books.

"Don't be a wimp," Raven answered, grinning widely when she saw his agitated glare. "They're only books. You can be such a sissy some—…"

Wow.

Raven stopped short, gazing dreamily at a beautiful black velvet dress on display. Normally she would not do this. Actually, she never would do this. Girly actions just were not suited for her. And Azar knew how many clothes that she already had that she never wore (compliments of her friends). But the dress was just so damn gorgeous… it looked like it was made especially for her tastes. Not too short. Not too long. Not slutty or skanky. It was perfect.

"Ravvvven", Richard drawled. "Stop drooling over the dress and just go try it on."

"I was not drool…"

Richard already had dragged her inside the store before she finished her sentence. Damn those quick reflexes of his. Already grabbing the right dress with her size from the racks, he shoved it in her hands and pushed her towards the changing room.

"Hurry up and change. I'll just wait here."

Giving him a grateful smile, Raven went into the changing room with her dream dress.

"Hey Richard! Why are you here at the mall! In the women's section?"

Richard turned to see Speedy and a pretty girl clinging on to his arm making their way over to them. He smirked, seeing their close proximity.

"Hey yourself," Richard answered. "On a date?"

"Hi. I'm Monica!" Monica smiled, already checking Richard out. "I'm Speedy's girlfriend."

Robin's eyebrow formed a perfect arch upon hearing this. The playboy Speedy has a girlfriend! Alert the presses! He looked questionably at Speedy as Speedy shuffled his feet nervously and cleared his throat.

"So… who are you here with?"

Just at that moment, the door from the changing room opened and Raven stepped out in all her glamour. She did a little girly twirl before she could stop herself. This dress was making her feel so damn giddy. However, the dress had fitted perfectly, highlighting all the right places. It looked truly perfect on her.

"So… how do you like it?" Raven questioned, looking up to Richard and… chestnut brown eyes? "Speedy! What are you doing here?"

"Who are you?" Monica cut in rudely, locking her arms around her "boyfriend". She certainly did **not **like the way that Speedy was looking at that girl. What a freakin' slut! Who did that girl think she was? Parading around in some little dress as if she owned the world.

"Who the hell are you?" Raven answered, already turned off by the way the girl was acting.

"I'm Monica, Speedy's _girlfriend_," she said, flipping her blond hair away from her face. "And let me give you a bit of advice_ dear, _that dress does not do you justice."

"Uh… Monica, this is Raven," Speedy interrupted, not looking at anyone but the floor. "You know… from the Titans."

"OH! That Raven! Oh my god! Then you must be Robin! You must autograph something for me! HERE! Use my arm!"

Robin stared at her, a little perturbed when she turned towards him and held up her arm shakily. He gazed uncertainly at Raven but she refused to look at him. In fact, she was not looking at anything. And by the way that her arms were tensing up… he'll have to say that she was pissed. Scribbling some random words on Monica's right arm, he turned cheerfully to Raven.

"So… let's buy the dress!"

Raven stalked angrily back into the dressing room, tearing the dress away from her body. That stupid girl! And Speedy! How could he stand being with her? And how can he just stand there while she was being so rude to her? Stomping back out, she thrust the dress towards Monica.

"Here… it'll look perfect on you."

Grabbing Richard's arm, she dragged him out the door with him protesting all the way.

As Monica gabbled on something or the other, Speedy thought back on his run in with Raven. She looked as beautiful as usual, even more when she was wearing that dress. The dress did her complete justice. And when she gazed up at him… he thought he was going to die.

Turning back to Monica, he allowed himself to be dragged to another store.

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Starfire, or better known as Queen K'oriador, stood regal and strong among her people. Giving the final speech to end the five years long Tamaran-Earth feud, she felt a feeling of exuberance. She stopped it. She actually was able to stop the war before it got out of hand. And with her big accomplishment, she was finally able to come home, home to the Titans, home to Robin.

That was… if they still wanted her. Starfire had never wanted to leave them. In fact, her decision to come back to Tamaran was the biggest regret in her life. Her father had asked her to do his last dying promise: to keep Earth and Tamaran from war. And she had to carry out his wishes… for honor… for him… for herself. She needed to show Tamaran and the Earth that she was no longer the little girl that got tricked by her older sister Blackfire.

Oh the Titans. She missed them so much. Beastboy with his silly jokes… Cyborg with all his electronics… Raven with her moods… and Robin, his everything. Leaving Robin was what hurt her the most. She loved him… and still does. However, at the time, loving someone from Earth was _forbidden_. And with someone of her high status to hold a forbidden love, why, that was unacceptable.

Staring at the phone on the far right corner, she contemplated again over her decision to come back. She hurried to punch the ever so familiar number before she lose her nerves. She had to make sure that the Titans were still there.

"5-6-7-4-5-2-1-0-4-5-6-8."

"Ring ring."

Digging his head deeper into his pillow, Richard tried to sleep out the noise the telephone was making. No can do. Giving in and cursing the skies, he picked up the receiver and gave a sleepy "hullo…"

Starfire drew in her breath… he sounded just like she remembered. Tears began to fall from her eyes and drop down onto the floor before her. _Robin… _Quickly hanging up the phone, she proceeded to pack. She cannot stand being away from her love no longer.

Richard stared at the phone as it was giving out a long dial tone. Hmm… he swore he heard someone on the other line. Deciding not to dwell on it, he redropped his head back into his pillow to once again, dream of dreams filled with red hair and green eyes.

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Looking up at the large almost ominous looking T-shaped Tower, Starfire wondered once again if she was doing the right thing coming back. Do the Titans still want her? Was everyone still there? Oh goddess forbidden… Did Robin love someone else? She had to know! Hurrying up to the door, she quickly punched in the security code from the old times.

"Enk. Enk. Enk."

Starfire watched in horror as red flashing lights filled the outside of the Titan's Tower. A huge voice boomed out: INTRUDER ALERT. INTRUDER ALERT. Her own home (ex-home) had rejected her. She watched the red lights. Each flash seemed to taunt at her as if to say: we don't want you and we don't need you. She pounded on the door helplessly as her eyes started to fill with tears.

"Please… please friends. I have come back," she weakly muttered.

"Starfire?"

Starfire turned and was met with Cyborg's newly equipped sonic cannon. Cyborg lowered his cannon a little but he didn't stop aiming it at her. Starfire's heart broke at her old friend's distrust of her.

"I'm so sorry," Starfire started to blubber, hugging herself. "I'm so sorry."

Cyborg's heart melted a little at her state. Deciding to give her the benefit of the doubt, he gently brought her into the Tower. However, he did not allow her to see the code that he pushed in.

Starfire dropped onto the old worn sofa in front of a new large screen TV. Looking around, she saw that the Tower had changed in many ways since she last been here.

"The Tower is beautiful," Starfire said, smiling weakly. "It looks different."

Cyborg returned the smile shortly and a tense silence filled the room. Quickly excusing himself, he proceeded to call up Terra and Beastboy. He surely didn't want to be the only one in the room when Raven and Robin comes back with the pizza.

"Hey Terra," Cyborg greeted into the phone. "Get yourself and Beastboy down here to Titans Tower immediately would you? We have a slight emergency."

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Terra glared at the red-haired woman in front of her. How dare that girl come back! Didn't she know how much hurt that she caused the Titans? The Titans was heartbroken. They were unable to keep the city safe because of all the grief that Starfire caused. Terra herself was no stranger to hurting the Titans… considering the fact that she had sided with Slade in the past. She had to suffer the consequences… the fact that she was losing such good-hearted people. And Terra did not want Starfire to do the same. That was what fueled her hurtful and blunt question.

"Why did you leave?"

Cyborg and Beastboy stiffened while Starfire flinched. Just when she was about to answer, the doors swished open. In came a smiling pair of birds, Robin and Raven. Their smile and laughter stopped short when they caught sight of the person in front of them.

"Star."

Starfire made her way shakily to the pair. Here was her past lover and her best friend. Reaching two feet in front of them, she gave a shaky "hi".

Hearing her words, Robin bolted. He ran… ran away from the object that caused him so much hurt and at the same time, so much happiness.

Starfire swallowed hard and turned to Raven, trying hard to decipher the expression on Raven's face. Was it anger? Pity?

"Raven," Starfire started. "I'm…"

Raven could not believe it. Starfire was back. After all the hurtful things that she had done to the team… how she had almost split them up. And she was back! She did the only sensible thing that a person could do in her place.

She decked her.

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So Starfire's back… WOOHOO! I know that for some of you, Starfire isn't exactly on your favorite character list right now…. but she's essential to the story. I'm so sorry… (gives you cookie) forgive me?

And how did you like Monica?

There's a lot of mistakes because I didn't have time to proofread it yet. I'm just so happy that I managed to make a third chapter.

PLEASE REVIEW!

-Sen


	4. Chapter 04: No Release

**Hey everyone! Sorry for the extra long wait… how long has it been? More than a month! I hope people still read this story. Anyways, hope you like this chapter and please, REVIEW!**

**4. Release**

Life at Titan's Tower had never seemed as strain. Robin had not return to the Tower from the day he saw Starfire, which was two weeks ago. Bumblebee had officially moved in to stay with Cyborg, using the excuse that it was long due but everyone knew that she was there to keep the peace. Beastboy and Terra made frequent visits. Terra always ignored Starfire; Beastboy stared at her with pity.

Starfire had taken up board in the far east corner of Titan's Tower. Raven herself had appointed Starfire there. Perhaps she thought of it as the old saying, "out of sight, out of mind". However, this wasn't true. Starfire invaded Raven's dreams… always being the villainess who steals something _precious_ that Raven can never get back.

Raven wanted to hate Starfire so much. She wanted to hate her with every bone of her body. Yet, she couldn't. Starfire had been her ex-best friend, her trusting confidant. When Starfire left, Raven had imagined the worst. She kept seeing Starfire's dead and mutilated body in her mind. With the rest of the Titans, she had searched far and wide for a sign of her. And to what? They found out that Starfire was going on a one-way flight back to Tamaran. That last straw broke up the Titans. Beastboy and Cyborg refused to play video games. Raven couldn't speak to anyone for days, weeks. And Robin… poor Robin, he tried to kill…

Oh no… she would not go back down that road again. Everything in Titan's Tower invocated painful memories. Deciding that she needed to get out of the house before Starfire awoke, Raven quickly teleported away to Titans East. She needed the company.

.XxXxX.

Speedy awoke to a pounding headache. Uh, how much did he drink last night at the party? Turning to his side to block the sunlight that was already starting to creep in through the windows, he was met with a warm body. What the! Jumping back too far, he landed on the carpeted floor with a thump.

The bed groaned above him.

"Baby, up already?"

The girl stuck her head out from under the covers to reveal a blond pretty girl. Monica. She leaned over the bed, giving Speedy a nice view of her breasts. She leered down at his naked body on the floor.

He looked down to see that he was showing her all of his glory. Grabbing a sheet from the bed, he covered himself with as much dignity as he could. Nonplused, Monica stepped out of the bed and sauntered nakedly over to where he stood.

"Ready for Round two lover?"

Looking away from her naked body and sitting back down on the bed, he tried to remember everything from last night through his pounding headache. Club 9… shots of tequila… Monica. Turning a bit green, he hurried into the restroom to get rid of all the bile in his mouth. What had he done?

Monica looked over at her boyfriend in the restroom, or at least that's what he called himself, wistfully. She knew that Speedy didn't share the same feelings as she did. Last night was proof enough. At the point of his release, it wasn't her name drunken Speedy shouted out, it was that bitch… _Raven_. Hell would freeze over before she allowed that bitch her man. Speedy would be hers. She was sure of it. He had to be.

"Raven? What are you doing here?"

Speaking of the bitch, Monica grinned evilly. She quickly grabbed Speedy's shirt and covered her assets. If she was going down, the least she could do is take Speedy along with her.

.XxXxX.

"Raven? What are you doing here?"

Raven smiled a tired smile up at Aqualad. Now, there was a good guy. Why couldn't she have fallen in love with him? He was nice… hot… and not tied down by some lost lover. Of course, there was still the fact that he was gay.

"I needed to get out of there. I guess you heard about Starfire?"

"Yeah," Aqualad contested, giving Raven a small pitiful smile. "I'm really sorry."

"Sorry for what?" Raven said scornfully. "If she's back, Robin will fall in love with her again. Then, they'll get married and have tons of black haired and green eyes boys and girls."

"I know how you feel about—."

"Aqualad!"

The two of them turned to find Monica in nothing but Speedy's green and red shirt sauntering over to them. Aqualad's eyes widened a considerable amount behind the mask whilst Raven glared.

"'Morning guys. Did you have a good night sleep?" said Monica, eyeing Raven challengingly. Without waiting for the two of them to answer, she plunged on. "I am like so tired. I didn't get a wink of sleep last night. Speedy is like such a beast. Wouldn't you agree Raven?"

"I wouldn't know," Raven said dully.

"OH! I guess you're not exactly his type," Monica snipped, looking Raven up and down. "He'll never go for such a boring girl."

Ignoring Monica's comment even though her fist was itching to give her a good sock in the face, Raven turned back to Aqualad, "I guess I should go right now."

"Raven!"

Before teleporting, Raven turned back to look at speaker to find Speedy looking at her apprehensively.

.XxXxX.

Shit. Just shit. That's the way his life always is. With one freaking night, he lost Raven. How could he have been so careless? How could he have slept with Monica? Raven probably thought he was some kind of man-skank who couldn't keep his dick to himself.

Sure, he had slept with girls before… countless girls actually. But to have such evident evidence in front of Raven… shit. Just shit.

.XxXxX.

Starfire stared around her empty room. Gone were the pink wallpaper… the pink dresser… the pink bed. Everything seemed so colorless, a tasteless black… the same way that she felt at that moment. Why did she come back? How can she make her friends understand the torment that she faced up there in Tamaran? Hearing all those Tamaranians talk down on the humans, she nearly gave up. Those people had no idea how humans really were… how kind and caring they could be. But she had to be strong… she had to stop the war between Tamaran and earth. Accomplishing that caused her to give up the greatest part of her life… her friends.

Her friends are incredible. Beastboy with his continuous amount of corny jokes was able to keep her laughing for hours. Cyborg and his great big brother personality gave her a feeling of protection wherever she went. Raven and her strength… her peace… gave her someone to look up to. And Robin, dear sweet Robin…

She needed to get her life back. She needed to get her friends back. She could not live without them.

Leaving her room, she headed down to the basement. It was time to talk to Victor, always Cyborg to her.

.XxXxX.

Aqualad glared at Speedy across the large kitchen space that they had at Titan's Tower. Of all the dumbest things to do…

"What?" Speedy said, looking up from his fried chicken long enough to send a questioning glance Aqualad's way.

"I couldn't believe that you would bring a girl home! Of all the stupidest things… you drove Raven away! She's heartbroken right now! She needed someone to talk to about the problems at the other tower. But no… your slutty girlfriend had to make her too embarrassed to stay."

Choking on his chicken at the mention of Raven, Speedy forced down the mouthful.

"Problems? Raven has problems? What problems?"

"Why would you care?" Aqualad said irritably. "All you care about is getting some."

"Of course I care about her!" Speedy replied back heatedly.

"Why? 'Cause she's better looking now… you want to bang her too?"

"Now you wait here you little overgrown fish! Raven is--."

"Wait for what? You to grow up! She's my friend you stupid twig. I, for one, care abut her."

And with those last lines, Aqualad left with a flourish. He wasn't exactly angry at Speedy. He just wanted him to think about Raven a little. Sometimes, the guy just has no brains. What would the world do without Aqualad?

.XxXxX.

"Cyborg? Can I talk to you?"

Victor stopped fixing the wires to the car as he heard the familiar girlish strong voice say his ex-alias name. Wheeling out from under the car, he raised one eyebrow at the edgy Starfire, something he never thought he'll see.

"You called?"

"Hi Cyborg. I was wondering if we could talk," Starfire said to the ground, not dare looking up at Victor.

And so, the two ex-friends sat down together to talk. One down and three to go.

.XxXxX.

**An/ Sorry for the huge wait guys. Thanks for all the reviews too. I haven't have time to answer all of them but now that summer's here, I promise to dedicate part of my time to answer them.**

**You know the drill. Review! Nothing to say? Answer this question: How did you like this chapter? **

**Also, Aqualad is currently in the dark about Speedy's feelings about Raven. **

**Poor o' Speedo. **

**I promise, with all of my fingers, to type a longer chapter next time. **


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